Is it a cabaret? Is it a revue? No, it's a...bunch of opera songs performed with overt sexuality. This show purports to tell the story of opera over the course of several centuries. It does not really do that.
In actual fact, it is a presentation of operatic numbers given fresh interpretations by young, passionate female singers. Providing the continuity is a sexually deviant MC. He succeeds in being charming and funny. The singers, too, succeed in entertaining with their arias. However, while each song manages to communicate a clear story through actions and expressions, the viewer has no way of knowing how well each story connects with the lyrics of the song as translations of the lyrics are not provided. I would like to trust that the stories and the lyrics correlated closely, but I saw some evidence to suggest otherwise.
Strangely, the songs performed in English were so badly acted that I found it hard to bear. In such cases, no clear story was communicated. On the one occasion that subtitles were provided, I felt they were then doing all of the work and that the singer was doing little to tell the story.
So, while the singers in this wee show are mostly rather excellent singers, most lacked the subtlety to tell their tales in an interesting natural way. My attention was only intermittently engaged.
See this show if you are familiar with the more popular operatic solos and wish to hear them performed by fresh young voices.
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